Sunderland has had an initial bid for AZ Alkmaar striker Jozy Altidore rejected, according to various reports. AZ, which just sold Adam Maher to PSV Eindhoven for
close to $10 million, is not believed to be motivated to sell the U.S. international. "A first bid was insufficient,” a club spokesperson said. “We have let them know that. Now we have to
wait." TheNorthern Echoclaims the bid was for $7.6 million, but AZ
values the 23-year-old, who scored 31 goals in all competitions last season, at closer to $15 million.

Nevertheless, Altidore seems keen to return to the Premier League, where he spent the
2009/10 campaign playing on-loan at Hull City, which was eventually relegated. "It is a fantastic league, anyone will tell you that," Altidore told NASN. "If you look at everything, the
Premier League is probably the biggest league in the world. Everybody knows that and it would be a pleasure to play in a league like that again."

The American claimed that he has grown as a
player since his time at Hull, which only brought one goal in 25 appearances. "I think I was 19 or just turned 20 and ... it is a totally different style from the MLS,” the former New York Red
Bulls striker said. “I have come a long way since then. I am almost a different player and I have learned a lot.” He added: “Some of my performances at Hull were not as bad as people
think, some of them were actually pretty good. I don't look back at it as a sad experience. It was a great experience because I got to see what the highest level was like."